Building structure



Sept. 23, 1969 F. s. STANCLIFFE BUILDING STRUCTURE Filed Sept. 29. 1967 FIG: 3.

INVENTOR. FLOYD S. .STAA/CL/FFE FIG: 2.

PATENT AGENT United States Patent 3,468,087 BUILDING STRUCTURE Floyd S. Stanclilfe, 5584 Sunny Oaks Drive, San Jose, Calif. 95123 Filed Sept. 29, 1967, Ser. No. 671,859 Int. Cl. E04f 11/00; E04h 1/00, 12/00 US. Cl. 52187 3 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A building structure generally having the form of a concavely-distorted cylinder Whose wall-sections are formed by a group of slightly dished panels joined at their edges and at least partially held in their assembled relationship by the floor structure of the building, thus providing a simple yet strong and weather-resistant arrangement.

The present invention relates generally to building structures and, more particularly, to partially prefabricated structures which can be readily assembled at the construction site.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION It is well-known that conventional building structures have gradually increased in cost, primarily as a result of the increased labor cost in the construction industry, and particularly because of the fact that conventional buildings, whether in the form of relatively simple residences or more complex industrial or commercial buildings, require the addition to the essential structural elements of the building, in a very time consuming and expensive manner, of certain finishing details, such as, for example, interior Walls having no structural function whatsoever.

In addition to the high initial cost of conventional buildings, for the reasons briefly indicated hereinabove, additional problems are encountered in both use and maintenance. As one example, conventional structures are not capable of withstanding high winds or earthquakes, as experienced in certain areas; additionally, repeated painting of the building exteriors is requisite, and they are subject to general deterioration both from exposure to weather and other effects, such as termite damage.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, it is a general objective of the present invention to provide a partially prefabricated building structure wherein the structural elements can be manufactured on a mass production basis and assembled readily at the site by relatively unskilled workmen, and wherein the structural arrangement is such that the structural elements also function as the finished esthetically pleasing elements, and finally require substantially no maintenance and are capable of withstanding the ravages of weather or similar effects over an extended period. Generally, the objective is achieved through use of a structure composed quite simply of a plurality of vertically-extending panels, preferably formed from steel, aluminum, or other material capable of ready fabrication and subsequent assembly in edgewise abutting relationship to form the exterior walls of the structure and at the same time provide the vertical structural elements of the completed building. The panels are formed so that the structure slopes inwardly, at least for a portion of its height, and at a narrow portion, a floor member is supported, both to function as the floor of a room and to assist in maintenance of the wall panels in their assembled edgewise abutting relationship. Preferably, the finished structure has the exterior configuration of a slightly concave cylinder and therefore provides little resistance to wind and will therefore not be damaged even by the extremely high-velocity winds experienced during a tornado or hurricane.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING The stated objectives and the manner in which they are achieved will be more readily understood by a perusal of the following detailed description of one embodiment of the invention, illustrated in the accompanying drawing wherein:

FIG. 1 is a general perspective view of a building structure embodying the invention, portions of the structure being broken away to show some interior details thereof,

FIG. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary horizontal sectional view taken substantially along line 22 of FIG. 1, and

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a single wall panel.

DESCRIPTION OF THE EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENT With initial reference to FIG. 1, the exemplary embodiment of the invention takes the form of a building structure having a generally upright cylindrical configuration but gradually narrowing to a minimum diameter at a central level, thus to result in an inwardly-concave cylindrical configuration. As shown, the entire vertical support of the structure is carried by the exterior distorted cylindrical wall which is preferably formed by the edgewise juncture of a plurality of like panels 10, one of which is illustrated in FIG. 3, and is preferably formed from sheet-steel or aluminum of appropriate thickness dependent upon the particular bearing load to be experienced. If the panel be steel, its exterior surface can be enameled or coated with other weather-resistant material which will also present an esthetically desirable appearance and will require substantially no maintenance. The interior of each panel, in turn, can be provided, as desired, with a textured surface of some sort or another to form a desirable interior wall for the structure.

In order that a number of panels 10, as shown in FIG. 3, can be joined to ultimately form the wall structure, each panel has a curved longitudinal shape and its longitudinal edges are also curved inwardly, an amount requisite to enable formation of the distorted cylindrical wall, as shown in FIG. 1. The longitudinal edges of each panel are formed to enable a sealed and rigid juncture therebetween and preferably, as illustrated, most clearly in FIGS. 3 and 2, take the form of tongue-and-groove connection, one longitudinal edge of the panel being formed with a slightly-angled groove 12 and the opposite edge being formed with an angular projecting tongue 14. The amount of angularity of the grooves and tongues are such that the panels, when joined, will produce the desired distorted cylindrical exterior configuration.

When assembled, the panels 10 are arranged to rest on generally circular concrete base or foundation 16 and each panel can be tied to a conventional metal stud projecting upwardly from the concrete for attachment of a suitable holding nut (not shown) in a generally conventional fashion. In this manner, the panels 10 are held in their assembled abutting relationship at their lower extremities.

At an intermediate level, a circular floor member 18, which can also be of sheet-steel or some other structural adequate material, is joined at its edges by suitable bolted connections to brackets 20, at least one of which is connected to the interior of each panel 10 as by welding. Since the panels are secured at their lower ends to the concrete base 16 and slope inwardly from their lower ends to the intermediate level whereat the floor member 18 is attached, the weight of such floor member or any items carried thereon is effectively transmitted to the Wall panels so as to provide a firm structural unit. More particularly, a vertical component of force is obviously transmitted from the floor member 18 to the wall panels 10 and thence to the concrete base 16. Additionally, since the wall panels 10 slope inwardly from the base 16, an inwardly-directed component of force is derived from the weight of the floor member, thus to urge the panels 10 against the edge of the floor member. This same inwardly directed force on the panels 10 also functions to urge the same together laterally to maintain the tongue and groove connections 12, 14 therebetween.

Whereas, it would be obvious that another floor member, which would also function as a root, could be secured to the panels 10 at their upper extremities to similarly maintain the wall panels in their assembled relationship, in accordance with another aspect of the present invention, the top or roof member 22 has an enlarged cup-shaped configuration, thus, in effect, to form a receptacle for water to provide a swimming-pool for the occupants of the building and at the same time to provide an insulating structure in this roof portion. The lip of the cup is bent outwardly and downwardly as indicated at 22A in FIG. 1 to provide hooked holding engagement with the tops of the panels 10 to further assist in the maintenance of their assembled relationship.

To provide access to the described building structure, suitable openings can be provided in the panels 10' at the lower or ground level to enable the accommodation of a front door 24 of any desired design, and also for a garage door 26, the interior of the lower level serving conveniently as a garage.

To, in turn, provide access to the upper level of the structure, a staircase 28 can be provided and preferably takes the form of a spiral staircase which extends around the inner periphery of the generally cylindrical Wall from a point adjacent the front door 24 to a suitable opening in the floor member 18 and the described roof member 22. Preferably, as best illustrated in FIG. 2, this spiral staircase 28 is secured to the interior of the wall panels 10 by a continuing generally spiral member 30' mounted on additional brackets 20, of the type previously described, on the interior of each panel 10. Thus, the spiral staircase 28, itself, serves as an additional structural member holding the wall panels 10 in their assembled relationship.

While details of the'interior partitions of the structure will vary from one structure to another depending upon the use to which it is to be put, an exemplary partition 31 is partially shown in FIG. 1 and preferably constitutes an additional structural member arranged in bridging relationship between the interior surfaces of opposing panels 10, a suitable bolted connection being provided. Thus, these partitions 31 as well as the spiral staircase 28, the floor member 18 and the Wall members 10 all have structural as well as utilitarian functions and maximum strength is thus afiorded in spite of the ultimate simplicity of the arrangement.

Obviously, many additional features can be incorporated in the structure depending upon its particular use. As one example, a number of circular windows 32 can be formed in thepanels 10 above the fioor member 18 or adjacent the spiral staircase 28 to admit light yet without detracting from the general structural rigidity of the wall members. Further features can be incorporated, which are not shown, so long as the overall effective simplicity and rigidity of the structure is retained and, accordingly, the description of one embodiment of the invention is not to be considered in a limiting sense.

What is claimed is:

1. A multi-level building structure which comprises,

a generally circular base,

an inwardly-concave, generally cylindrical wall structure composed of a plurality of curved panels extending upwardly from said base and arranged in edgewise juncture and having an intermediate narrowed portion defining a minimum diameter of the wall structure at an intermediate level,

mounting brackets on the interior of said wall structure substantially at the position of minimum diameter,

a planar floor structure secured to said brackets and spanning the area of minimum diameter so that the weight of said floor member functions to urge said wall panels inwardly and into edgewise abutting relation, and

a roof member joining said wall structure adjacent its upper extremity.

2. A building structure according to claim 1 which comprises References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 6/1888 McMullin S2--187 7/1907 Tufts 5297 12/1961 Nehrbass 52--l87 10/ 1966 Koss 52-13 FOREIGN PATENTS 1/1897 Great Britain. 7/1958 Great Britain. 8/1959 Great Britain. 8/1938 Switzerland.

OTHER REFERENCES Houses From Pickle Vats, p. 121, Popular Mechanics,

April 1964.

55 HENRY C. SUTI-IERLAND, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 

